


A Corrupt Shard

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post-Uprising, but there's a glimmer of hope at the end, meeting Alice goes about as well as expected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 01:16:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14344920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: Hermann meets Alice at long last, and he has a few things to say, making a vow in the process.





	A Corrupt Shard

He was looking for clues, any clues that could help him gain some leverage, and his search had lead him here.

Hermann had never been to Newt’s apartment here, not once in the years they had been apart. This was the first time he’d found himself here, and he wished it had been under much different circumstances. He wished they’d been here together; having a nice meal and maybe talking things over. Maybe one thing would lead to another and he could hold Newt in his arms as they lay asleep together in his bed.

Maybe Newt would have told him what was really going on… somehow.

Looking back, maybe Hermann should have taken his offer.

Now Newt was tied to a chair in that cell, his mind clouded by the precursors that currently had control over him.

Hermann wasn’t willing to give up on the man he loved so easily though. He’d looked through everything in Newt’s lab, and was now at his apartment to continue his search. He was looking for anything he could use to get an upper hand on whatever the precursors were planning, and to find something that might help him bring Newt back.

Entering the apartment Hermann found it was a nice enough space; much more room than what he had in Hong Kong. Hermann could only assume that this upgrade came with the job Newt had taken when he left. At least Newt had a nice and comfortable looking apartment (although he’d rather be in a nice apartment like this with Newt). It lacked much of what he was expecting, anything that might have had a touch of Newt’s style. It was too organized, none of Newt’s posters or nick knacks present. No trace. It was like this place belonged to another person entirely.

And the horrible thing was that was sort of true.

On the couch in the main living area however, there were notes scrawled in Newt’s handwriting. Hermann scanned the room again and saw there were more scattered in various places. It almost made Hermann smile, as to him it was like seeing hints of the real Newt. It reminded him of the good old days…

But those days were long gone.

Hermann took a few of these pages from the couch, folding them and putting them away in his pocket. He then continued onto the only place in the apartment he had not searched yet; the bedroom.

There were more notes scattered on the ground as he made his way to the back of the apartment where the bedroom was located. Hermann glanced at them as he passed them by and crossed the threshold into the bedroom.

The bed was a mess, of course; He expected no less from Newt. He even left some of his clothes scattered on the floor. Maybe he could find more notes here that might help or-

There was soft _thunk_ from somewhere behind him in the room.

Hermann turns, wondering where the noise came from. In a corner near another door that probably lead into a bathroom was something covered by a dark sheet. Whatever it was it was tall, almost like a cylindrical fish tank. Hermann didn’t know why it was covered, but he could have sworn that’s where he heard those noise come from.

Letting curiosity get the better of him, Hermann went over to whatever it was that was being covered by the sheet. He gave in another look once over and then reached out to grab the sheet. He pulled down and away revealing what was hiding underneath.

He let go of the sheet. He nearly let go of his cane in shock.

There was a brain in that tank; a Kaiju brain. It was the same brain Newt used to have in the lab, the very same one he foolishly Drifted with, nearly killing himself in the process.

“No… How...” He muttered, staring at the brain with wide eyes. “...Why are you here?”

It said nothing back, of course. It merely floated in its suspended state in that sickly yellow-green liquid, giving a twitch every now and then like some damn eel. Hermann’s eyes were then drawn up to something scrawled in red marker near the top of the tank.

Alice.

 

A l i c e

 

The realization hit Hermann like a lightning bolt. This was who Newt was talking about; not a person, but an actual-

 

_“You can finally meet Alice!”_

 

Hermann’s grip tightened on his cane, his knuckles going white. It was taking every effort just to keep balance right now.

Still, he didn’t understand why the brain was here. He hadn’t known what happened to it after the Breach had closed, but he supposed he knew now. Newt had been so thrilled the day he got his hands on this (a piece of Mutavore’s brain, if he remembered correctly); excited and rambling on about what he could do with it. His smile was so bright as he had talked and talked.

But Newt had only ever intended to use the brain for study and observation. Hermann had thought perhaps it might be dead, after Newt had so foolishly gone and-

Wait… Wait.

No.

‘ _No- Gott- don’t tell me he-’_

‘Alice’ wasn’t going to give him answers, but a quick inspection around the tank showed a stray cord leading away from it and to a chair nearby. In that chair, hidden under a pillow and next to an empty bottle, was exactly what Hermann feared.

A control panel switch and a pons head set.

Newt had Drifted with this brain, again.

He can’t help but put a hand over his mouth, stunned by realizing exactly what Newt had done. It all made so much sense now. Hermann retreated back to the bed, sitting down on it and just staring off into nowhere.

He felt numb.

How many times had Newt Drifted with it was the first question that came to mind. It had to be sometime after he had taken the job offer with Shao industries, but Newt had somehow managed to get this brain in here and set up a pons system to Drift with, likely going off his own schematics from the first round, but more refined. It stood to reason then that Newt had possibly Drifted numerous times with the brain in the years they were apart. It also explained how the Precursors got to Newt.

That thought was staggering and at the same time a stab through the heart.

‘ _Why?’_ Hermann thought. _‘Why did you do this, Newt?’_

And then came the crushing thought that in those years apart from each other Newt had suffered alone. Hermann had no idea this had been happening. Hermann had assumed Newt was no longer interested in him when contact became few and far in between, but perhaps that hadn’t been the case.

And maybe those nightmares- his nightmares- maybe a few of them had been a warning; not merely a reflection of the trauma they both suffered.

And maybe when Newt asked him over for dinner- maybe for a moment that had been the real Newt, and maybe the invitation had been a cry for help; desperate.

‘ _I should have seen it.’_ Hermann lamented. _‘I should have- I didn’t know- Oh, Newt…’_

He absently felt around the bruises at his throat, where Newt- no, not Newt- had nearly killed him. He had been struggling to breathe, trying to get free, but he remembered the look in Newt’s eyes when he regained control for a second; the sadness, hurt, and shock. Hermann remembered the despair in his voice.

 

_“I’m sorry, Hermann. They’re in my head.”_

 

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath to try and stop himself from crying.

“I forgive you, Newt.” He said aloud, his voice straining with emotion.

He sat there on the bed in silence for a few minutes, alone with his thoughts, but eventually opened his eyes again. He looked up to the brain in the tank; ‘Alice’.

“I do not forgive you, however, you vile, disgusting thing.” Hermann said to the brain.

It said nothing, just twitched.

Hermann got up from the bed trying to ignore Alice in the corner. It didn’t have eyes, of course, but he almost felt like it was staring at him. Let it stare then.

As he stood, he accidentally knocked over his cane that had been resting against the side of the bed. He cursed under his breath and slowly knelt down to retrieve it, placing a hand on the bed for support. The motion wasn’t exactly easy on his bad leg, but it was manageable. As he grabbed his cane, however, something caught his eye.

Under the bed was a box.

Hermann regarded it for a moment before reaching for it, pulling it out from its hiding spot. Using his cane now to help him get back up, Hermann took the box and sat back down on the bed. He placed the box on his lap and opened it.

Inside the box were four items; a journal, a small Kaiju pushie Hermann had gotten Newt for his birthday one year, Newt’s old glasses, and a folded photo.

The photo is what caught Hermann’s attention. He picked it up and unfolded it. What he saw in the photo was himself and Newt, just after they had closed the Breach. They stood shoulder to shoulder, Newt’s arm around Hermann. They both looked like they’d been through hell, Newt more so, but they were both smiling.

The photo was a perfect match to the one Hermann had.

This time a tear did slip free from Hermann’s eye. Somehow, even under Precursor influence, Newt had held onto this, which mean Newt was still in there somewhere. The real Newt; his Newt.

They would not take Newt from him.

Hermann turned his eyes up to Alice again, still getting the feeling it was watching him. Maybe… Maybe the Precursors could see him now, somehow, though Alice. Maybe not, for Alice lacked eyes. But maybe they could hear him.

“You bastards.” Hermann growled, closing the box, setting it aside, and grabbing his cane to stand. “You really have no idea what you’ve done.”

Hermann stood from the bed, glaring at Alice now.

“Do you know how long it’s been? I thought when we banished you and your war machines from this world it was over. I thought that maybe there could be peace, and that I could share that peace with someone I… someone I love; the brilliant, eccentric man I love.”

He approached Alice’s tank, daring to step close enough that he could make out details of its form.

“You took that from us; you took him from me. I was too foolish to see and I recognize my mistake in that, but I will not leave him now, not after what you’ve done. And you, ‘Alice’- Foolish of me for thinking you were an actual person. I don’t know the exact purpose Newt had in Drifting with you, but you’ve poisoned him. I cannot forgive you for that. I don’t know how long you’ve been in his head, but do not underestimate Newton. Do not underestimate me. Do not underestimate us. That will be your downfall.”

He turned away from Alice and grabbed the box from the bed.

“I will find Newt and bring him home.”

Hermann left the bedroom, leaving Alice behind and taking the box with him. He’d call for an extraction of the brain once he left, but for now, he was filled with a new determination, now that he understood.

But for now there was work to be done.

‘ _I will bring you back, Newt. I promise.’_


End file.
